The present invention pertains generally to clip devices for holding cans to form a multiple container package and more particularly to molded clips which engage chime portions of cans.
A wide variety of can carriers have been used in the prior art to both protect and provide a means for forming a multiple container package which can be easily carried by a consumer. Considerations in providing a multiple container package for mass use include low cost of materials employed, ease of assembly, use of a package with sufficient strength to maintain integrity throughout shipping and handling, aesthetic appearance and the ability to provide advertising and promotional material relating to the product.
Commonly used can carriers include plastic band carriers, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,874,835 and 2,936,070 by Poupitch. These plastic band carriers are formed from a sheet of plastic material with a plurality of can receiving apertures formed therein that engage each can around its perimeter. Plastic band carriers provide inexpensive manner of forming a multiple container package because of the low cost of fabrication. However, plastic band carriers are not normally reuseable and generally do not provide a means for attaching a cover device to protect the can tops from contaminates.
Another means of forming a multiple container package comprises the use of sheet carriers which are similar to band carriers in that they engage the entire circumference of the top portion of the can or bottle with a plastic sheet material. Examples of sheet carriers include U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,266 issued to Graser on Oct. 12, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,504 issued to Saumsiegle on Apr. 4, 1972, Canadian Pat. No. 714,401 issued to Illinois Tool Works, Inc. on July 27, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,713 issued to Noel on Apr. 18, 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,538 issued to Manizza on Feb. 3, 1982 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,500 issued to Poupitch on July 17, 1959. An advantage of the sheet type carriers is the ability of this type of carrier to easily provide protection to the can surfaces from dirt and other contaminates during transportion and handling. Since the users mouth is placed directly on the can surface, and the can tab is disposed in the can fluid during opening, it is highly desirable to provide a multiple container device having a cover for protecting the tops of the cans. However, sheet carriers require a large amount of compositional material which greatly increases the cost of forming a multiple container package. Additionally, despite the large amount of compositional material and the ability of sheet carriers to protect the top surfaces of the cans from contamination, sheet carriers frequently fail to provide adequate retention of cans in the multiple container package.
Clip carriers which engage a chime portion of a can have been used to form multiple container packages. Examples of clip carriers include the U.S. patents issued to Poupitch including U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,076 issued on May 23, 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,752 issued July 7, 1970, U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,662 issued July 14, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,405 issued Feb. 2, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,406 issued Feb. 2, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,612 issued Oct. 3, 1961, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,599 issued June 12, 1962, all of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference and form a part of this disclosure for all that they disclose. Other U.S. patents pertaining to clip carriers include U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,273 issued to Ruth on Sept. 17, 1957, U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,171 issued to Brooks et al. on Oct. 22, 1957, U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,855 issued to Fisher on Dec. 10, 1957, U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,803 issued to Wootton on June 10, 1958, U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,556 issued to Bedford on Dec. 9, 1958, U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,896 issued to Ziehmer on Mar. 10, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,897 issued to Taylor on Mar. 10, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,654 issued to Becker on Aug. 11, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,820 issued to Ruth on Oct. 27, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,888 issued to Brunsing on Feb. 27, 1962, U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,599 issued to Holland on Mar. 31, 1964, U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,485 issued to Bonkowski et al. on May 26, 1964, U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,210 issued to Heydon on Aug. 4, 1964, U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,260 issued to Horbath on May 18, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,326 issued to Brunsing on Aug. 3, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,447 issued to Whaley et al. on Aug. 24, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,206,019 issued to Curry et al. on Sept. 14, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,551 issued to De Shazor on Dec. 12, 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,700 issued to De Shazor on Feb. 27, 1968, U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,592 issued to Moore et al. on Mar. 25, 1969, U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,730 issued to Winters et al. on Feb. 8, 1966, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,859 issued to James S. Bader et al. on Aug. 12, 1980, all of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference and form a part of this disclosure for all that they disclose. The clip carriers disclosed in the above referenced patents comprise both metal and plastic clips. Metal clips have been found to be unsuitable because of the cost of production and materials and damage caused by the metal clips to the cans. Plastic clips have generally been unsuitable because of the inability of the clips to adequately retain or hold the cans in a multiple container package. In other words, conventional plastic clips have been unable to prevent accidental disengagement of cans during normal handling. An advantage of the molded clip is the cost and quantity of material required in the clips to form a standard sized multiple container package, is roughly equivalent to the amount of plastic material used in typical plastic band carriers. Another advantage of the molded clip is its ability to be reused in the multiple container package.
The can clip and package disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,859 issued to Bader et al. on Aug. 12, 1980 overcomes many of the disadvantages and limitations of conventional plastic clips by providing a clip having a hinge area to allow movement of cans in a multiple container package in directions parallel to the multiple container package without exerting force on the chime engaging means. This results in a substantial reduction in torque on the chime engaging means of the clip as a result of forces produced during normal handling of the multiple container package. Consequently, the can clip disclosed in the above referenced Bader et al. patent is capable of in response to movement of cans in directions parallel to the multiple container package. This has greatly increased the holding ability of the can clip so as to substantially reduce accidental disengagement of cans as a result of forces produced during normal handling. The clip disclosed by Bader et al. also substantially reduces the amount of compositional material to even less than that required in conventional band carriers by utilizing hooks and tabs which are offset along the chime arc. In other words, a large contact area is provided without the necessity for utilizing a tab portion opposing the hook portion, while still maintaining the holding ability of the clip.
Although the Bader et al. clip is capable of holding cans in response to movement of the cans in directions parallel to the multiple container package, it has been found that torque produced in response to side diagonal movement of the cans occasionally causes accidental disengagement. For example, forces produced from acceleration in response to rotational movement of the multiple container package along a vertical axis parallel to the cans produces torque in a direction along the hook which can occasionally cause progressive disengagement of the hook along the chime portion of the can.
Additionally, since countersink depths vary greatly in cans produced by different manufacturers, it would be desirable to have a universal clip which is capable of attachment to a wide variety of cans having a wide range of countersink depths. Prior art clips have been unable to adapt to the wide range of countersink depths of various cans currently being produced because of the inability of ear portions of the clip to conform to different countersink depths.